Give me a (charity) break

Our mailman must think The Husband and I are the most generous couple in the Capital Region.

Each day there is at least one envelope from a charity in our mailbox. We’ve received as many as five in a day. Sure, I can’t pass up an American Cancer Society Hope Club event and or resist filling at least four shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse, but if this plethora of solicitations continues, I’m going to retreat into the mountains where I can organize my raid on Whoville.

The problem started a couple months ago, when we received an envelope from an Alzheimer’s group (not the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern NY) addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Barlette.

Shortly after, mailings from Toys for Tots and a veterans group arrived. The Covenant House and an organization that helps the blind were next. We have never given to these groups.

During the height of election season, there were days we’d receive more charity requests than political mailers. I understand not-for-profits are in a tough situation. Giving is down and they need funds to continue doing good for the community. But, as someone who recycles heavily, loves that stores now email you your receipt instead of printing it out and throws a fit even when the deadest of dead trees must come down in our backyard, the waste of money and paper is eternally frustrating.

Three more envelopes from three other organizations arrived today. And, being on the cusp of the holiday season — also known as the giving season — the load won’t lessen.

Organizations go hard core at this time of year, due to what Daniel Borochoff, president of Charity Watch, a national charity rating and evaluation service, calls term paper syndrome.

“People wait till the last minute for the tax incentive,” says Borochoff. “They hold off their giving till the end of the year.”

Bottom line: Groups are more likely to receive donations now than in, say, March.

I’ve been trying to combat what has become charity-spamming by emailing the organizations and telling them to stop “pitching” me.

This hasn’t helped. One request resulted in a hardcover book about how God could save me if only I’d let him.

Another asked if I liked the return address labels they sent.

In the next mailing they included a nickel.

The Covenant House wrote:

“Your name is not on our mailing list. One or more of the organizations to which you do donate must be renting your name to us. We do not keep rented names or lists. If you have the current mailing, and can give us the codes on the bottom of the remit slip, (paper with your name and address and suggested donation amounts), we may be able to tell you who is renting your name.”

This renting isn’t uncommon. In fact, it can be a nice source of revenue for charities, Borochoff says.

Getting a onetime donation from someone is one thing, but renting your name over and over means repeated funds — especially for larger organizations with massive donor lists — making it unlikely to stop.

People can file a request with the Direct Marketing Association to have their names removed from some mailing lists (see box). But many charities are often excused from the ban and allowed to continue with their mailings.

For more than a month, I contacted several charities to track down the organization that rented out my name. Unfortunately, you deal with the donation acceptance department to get off these lists, and once you explain your desire in a message, you’re not likely to get a call or email back.

After several attempts, I reached the vice president of a Parkinson’s disease group. She was apologetic, and promised to take me off their list. She also gave me that nugget I was searching for — who was selling us out.

This all tracked back to that Alzheimer’s group who sent the first charity mailing we received jointly as a couple — a group we’ve never donated to.

Charity is important — essential, actually — and I love to give time and money where I can. But there are more effective ways to capture my dollars, and that’s by capturing my heart. That happens through personal experience, hearing stories from friends or coworkers and witnessing — firsthand — what these organizations do in the community.

And that’s going to have a much greater impact than any pack of address labels or $2 check ever could.

4 Responses

I just recently learned of the renting out of names among charities. Having been in fund raising for a college, I find it odd. If you have a donor, you certainly don’t want to share the potential future donations with others.

The advice I received was to not use the preprinted donation forms with bar codes from these organizations if you choose to donate.

It’s funny you mentioned the “included nickel”. I posted on FB last week how the nickel I got was a silver wartime nickel worth about $4 on e-bay. But I will agree with you how annoying the incessant begging has got.

I have to agree with #1 Christina …it now makes sense to me how these charities got my name and address. Being Catholic, when someone dies, I always send a mass card if they are an acquaintace,and Catholic and not close family or friends for which I send flowers. Kiddingly I said to my husband I must be on every Catholic mailing list that exists !!! Every week I get mass cards in the mail. I have enough mass cards to cover everyone in the obituary section of the paper for at least 4 weeks.